Electricity made tractors available in masses. But tractor didn’t replace farmers in the first discovery, it took iteration.
The first tractor was powered by steam. It was delicate and expensive and required trained operators. This was a prototype. Prototype isn’t built for volume. So it didn’t look like a threat. The sight of mid field breakdown and maintenance was laughable.
The next iteration is gasoline-powered. Priced at $50k in today’s dollars, it was still too heavy and unreliable and expensive. But it could be operated by one person. It was mainly skepticism, but interest begin to mix. Maybe some farmers took the jump to tractors.
In 1917, Fordson Model F was the breakthrough. It was mass produced and affordable. It was the turning point. And it was too late to run. Farmers relying on horses were replaced.
Are we at the Fordson moment?